Hans Plets new chair of EMR Task Force

Hans Plets is the new chair of the Einstein Telescope administrative task force. This task force includes government partners from Belgium, the Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia involved in the joint ET candidacy. As CEO of the Flemish Einstein Telescope organisation (ET Vlaanderen), he succeeds Sjoerd Sjoerdsma.

Sjoerdsma took office last month as Minister for International Trade and Development Cooperation in the new Dutch government and has therefore left the ET organisation.

Responsible

From an administrative point of view, this Taskforce is ultimately responsible for all steps leading to the acquisition of the Einstein Telescope.

Focus

Hans Plets: “Our efforts to bring the Einstein Telescope to the EMR are entering a crucial phase. By the summer, we should know if and where we want to build our triangle, and by the end of this year, we need to consolidate our input for the bid book in support of our candidacy.

At the same time, we need to develop our international strategy to build a strong international consortium around the EMR candidacy. These three components – the feasibility studies, the bid book and our international strategy – will determine where our focus will lie in the coming period.”

Flanders

Hans Plets joined the Einstein Telescope EMR project office from FWO Flanders a few years ago and has been working here as a member of the management team since 2024.

When the Flemish ET organisation (ET Flanders) was established last year, Hans was appointed its CEO. In this new role, he became part of the Task Force, of which he is now the chair.

Hans Plets studied physics, astronomy, philosophy and business administration at KU Leuven and then spent some time conducting scientific research in the fields of astrophysics, meteorology, climate and geophysics, and worked in the aviation sector.